University News
Amanda Niemann Portfolio Champion Individual
Leatherneck Livestock Judging Team with Champion Awards
Carter Hoge Livestock Judging Champion Individual Overall
Amanda Niemann Agricultural Education Champion Individual- Room 4
(left to right) Ben Wamsley, Amanda Niemann, Hannah Morris, Brooklyn Moore Portfolio Champion Team
91´«Ã½ Agriculture Students Earn Top Honors at NACTA Judging Conference
June 17, 2026
MACOMB, IL – Students from the 91´«Ã½ School of Agriculture earned multiple team and individual honors at the 2026 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Judging Conference, hosted by Illinois State University April 22-25 in Bloomington, IL.
91´«Ã½ students competed in Agricultural Education, Portfolio, Livestock Judging, Dairy Cattle Judging, Knowledge Bowl and Crops events.
The School of Agriculture earned first-place team finishes in Portfolio, Livestock Judging Overall, Cattle, Sheep and Goats, Swine Judging and Livestock Judging Reasons.
"I'm extremely proud of our students for the effort they put into preparing for this competition. As a first-year coach for the Agricultural Education and Portfolio teams, it was a huge success to see these wins. Dr. Mark Hoge, assisted by Coby Frey, continues to coach championship livestock judging teams. Leatherneck Livestock showed up for this contest ready to end an extraordinary season with excellence. I was also excited to see students stretch themselves and compete in new areas like Knowledge Bowl, Crops and Dairy Judging," Dusti Ingles, 91´«Ã½ assistant professor of Agriculture said.
Individual award recipients included:
Agricultural Education
First Place, Room 4: Amanda Niemann, senior from Litchfield, IL
Third Place, Room 2: Hannah Morris, senior from Fair Grove, MO
Portfolio
First Place: Amanda Niemann
Livestock Judging Overall
First Place: Carter Hoge, senior from Good Hope, IL
Second Place: Rob Rogers, junior from Mansfield, IL
Third Place: Ally Loosen, senior from Hartford, IL
Cattle
First Place: Carter Hoge
Second Place: Rob Rogers
Sheep and Goats
First Place: Slone Windish, senior from Brimfield, IL
Second Place: Marcus Eastridge, senior from Taswell, IL
Third Place: Carter Hoge
Reasons
First Place: Rob Rogers
Second Place: Carter Hoge
Swine
Second Place: Haley Wells, senior from Somerville, MA
Third Place: Ally Loosen
In addition to the judging competitions, Amanda Niemann presented an empirical research poster titled Impact of Soybean Maturity Group Selection on Yield and Seed Traits in a Soybean-Pennycress Rotation. The poster, co-authored by Tad L. Wasley, Mary E. Phippen, Nicholas Heller and Winthrop B. Phippen, placed 10th in the competition.
For more information on 91´«Ã½'s Ag program, visit wiu.edu/Ag.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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